Desperate Hour
by angellwings
Summary: "They were all forced to hang out with him if they ever wanted to see Ella. It was like they were attached at the hip. Nate hated it." Natella. Based on Keith Urban/Sarah Buxton's "Stupid Boy". Enjoy!


**A/N:** So, I was listening to "Stupid Boy" the other day, and I suddenly had an idea for a Natella fic. I wanted it to be like the song was from Nate's point of view, but I didn't want him to be the "stupid boy". I wanted him to be observing a relationship of Ella's and cursing the idiot that was treating her poorly. That was _going_ to be the gist of it, but then I was showing it to Beth (Poet on the Run) and she pushed me to make it something a bit more.

So now, you guys get to read this INSANELY LONG one shot, haha. Hopefully you guys will like it. I worked very hard on it and put a lot of emotion into this one. (I might have shed a few tears while writing it. Maybe.) I know Natella is not the most conventional pairing and therefore people don't really know it exists, but I write them with the hope that somewhere out there there's a person getting as much enjoyment out of this as me.

So, if such a person exists please let me know. I _love_ my OTP but sometimes it's depressing to think that I'm the only one who does. Anyway, I hope you guys find some enjoyment in this!

Thanks for reading!

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* * *

Desperate Hour**

By angellwings

* * *

_She was precious,_

_Like a flower,_

_She grew wild, wild but innocent._

_A perfect prayer in a desperate hour._

_She was everything beautiful and different._

_Stupid boy, you can't fence that in._

_Stupid boy, it's like holding back the wind._

_She laid her heart and soul right in your hands,_

_But you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans._

_She never even knew she had a choice,_

_That's what happens when the only voice she hears is telling her she can't._

_You stupid boy._

_-"Stupid Boy" by Keith Urban/Sarah Buxton

* * *

_

He remembered that day clearly. Ella came running over from the canoes and announced to everyone excitedly that Luke Williams had asked her out on a date. It was quite possibly one of his worst days ever. He just knew that nothing good would come of Ella dating that jerk.

The girls had tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't listen. A few days later Caitlyn caught him in the drum cabin to "chat" which Nate knew to mean "plot."

"What do you need, Cait?"

"I need you to talk Ella out of this. She'll listen to you."

He laughed. "Ella and I are close, but that does not mean she'll listen to me."

"You have to try, Nate. Luke's bad news. At least for Ella, anyway. You can't just _let_ her date this guy," Caitlyn told him with a glare.

"She's a big girl, Caitlyn. I learned the hard way that Ella can take care of herself."

"Yeah, well, she's getting in over her head this time, Nate."

"Look, I'll try okay? But she's 18 and more than capable of making her own decisions."

"Do you _want_ her to date him or something?" Caitlyn asked worriedly.

"_No_, God no. But I know Ella, and I know if we tell her not to she'll dig her heels in and stick to her decision completely. Especially if we make it sound like we don't like him."

"But we _don't_ like him," Caitlyn huffed.

"Exactly, we'll sound biased and closed minded. She'll think we're being unreasonable," Nate told his friend. "It's best to just let this play out. She'll see it."

Caitlyn narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

And he was right, at first. Ella broke it off after a couple of dates but somehow he'd convinced her to come back. They were all forced to hang out with him if they _ever_ wanted to see Ella. It was like they were attached at the hip. Nate hated it. It went from Caitlyn bugging him to talk to Ella to _everyone_ bugging him to talk to Ella. They never saw her without Luke anymore. He was always there. It almost felt like he wanted to _control _who she spoke to, as if he was waiting for one of them to say something he didn't like so he could take her away from them.

Nate had begun to feel like he would have to talk to her. If he could _ever_ get her alone. To his surprise, Ella had pulled him aside one day while Luke was back at Camp Star for rehearsals.

"I need to talk to you," She said urgently. He'd barely had time to nod before she'd pulled him into the drum cabin. "I have a problem, and you're the only one who truly gives me an honest opinion."

He smiled sadly at her and knew that his opinion wouldn't be one she wanted to hear right now. "What's up?"

"Luke wants me to apply to work at Camp Star next summer."

His eyes widened and he bit his tongue to keep from yelling in outrage. "What?"

"He thinks I should work at Camp Star with him. He says I should apply now because if I don't I might not get a spot, but I don't know if I should," She said with a sigh. "It's so different from here. But Luke's there, and he said he thought I would fit right in and that he would help me figure things out," Ella said with a soft smile. "It would be nice, you know, to be there with him."

"Ella, you can't do that," Nate told her.

Her brow furrowed. "Why not? I mean I've been thinking through the pros and cons, something _you_ taught me to do by the way, and the pros column is much lengthier than the cons. I mean, sure, I wouldn't see you guys every day, but it's not like we'd _never_ see each other. I'd just be a canoe ride away."

"If Luke ever let you near the canoe," Nate sneered before he could stop himself.

Shock flashed across her face but it was quickly replaced with hurt and anger. "_Excuse_ me?"

"I didn't mean that," Nate told her. "It's just-I've been worried about you…and Luke."

"Why?" She asked expectantly. "I don't see you worry about Mitchie and Shane or Jason and Caitlyn. So why are you worried about me and Luke?"

Nate took a deep breath. "I want you to remember that you asked me for my honest opinion."

"Just spit it out, Nate," Ella said irritably.

He knew then that this discussion wouldn't end well. "He's too controlling, Ella. It's scaring me. Not just me, all of us. He insists on being with you wherever you go, and when he can't be there he at least likes to know where you're planning on being. I'm surprised he let you be here talking to me without him." Nate regarded Ella thoughtfully. "You know what, I bet he doesn't even know you're with me, does he?"

Ella glanced down at the arms she'd crossed over her chest guiltily.

"That's what I thought. You couldn't tell him you were coming to see me, could you? Don't you see, Ella? That shouldn't _be_. You shouldn't be _scared_ of him."

"I'm _not_ scared of him!" Ella yelled. She shook her head. "You just don't get it. He looks out for me. He makes sure I'm taken care of. He _protects _me. If all of you would just chill out and forget about that stupid Camp Wars Final Jam business you'd see how wonderful he really is. But no, you're all convinced that he's still out to destroy us. You know what? Get over it. It was _ages_ ago."

Now she was really scaring him. "What does he protect you _from, _Ella?"

She didn't answer.

"Ella, what does he protect you from?" Nate repeated.

She huffed in frustration. "I—I don't know! Everything, I guess! He wants to make sure I never get hurt and _that's_ why he likes to be with me so much. I just don't understand why none of you can see that."

"That you _never_ get hurt? You realize that that's not possible right? He can't protect you from _everything_. The only way he can even kind of do that is if he keeps you from experiencing things and keeps you from trying," Nate told her as he placed a hand on her arm.

Ella jerked out of his hold. "You make him sound like some sort of manipulative monster."

"If the shoe fits," Nate said through a clenched jaw.

"I—I can't believe this. I can't believe you're being so unsupportive. He's my boyfriend, Nate. I would really appreciate it if the two of you could get along. Y—you're my best friend. Why can't you just suck it up and move on?" Ella asked quietly.

"Because, Ella, he's going to hurt you," Nate warned her. Her eyes flashed to his.

"Wait, so you're trying to _protect_ me then?" Ella asked pointedly.

"Ella," He said warningly. He could tell where she was going with this. "It's not the same. He's not really trying to _protect_ you. I actually am."

"I don't see the difference," Ella huffed.

"I'm not trying to control the outcome. That's the difference. Whether you see it or not, the truth is that Luke Williams is a controlling jackass, and nothing good will come of you dating him. I can tell you that right now."

"I can't believe you think I would actually _let_ someone manipulate me like that. I learned my lesson with Tess, Nate. I just can't believe _any_ of this. You don't know what you're talking about. You don't know the situation, you don't know him, and apparently…you don't know _me_," Ella said shortly. "I—I don't think we can do this anymore, Nate."

He remembered very clearly how deeply that comment had cut. His throat went dry and his eyes widened in shock. How could she say that to him? He knew her better than anyone. "You don't mean that. You can't."

"I don't see how we can be friends if you feel such strong dislike for someone who's such a big part of my life," Ella said as sadness crept into her voice. She cleared her throat, but the thickness remained. "I want to have both of you in my life, but if it's always going to be like _this_. If it's always going to be a battle then I don't think that's possible."

"Ella," He said pleadingly. "_You_ asked me for my honest opinion. You can't just toss me aside because my opinion is different from yours."

"I—I just don't know what to do here, Nate. I'm not going to break up with him, but it sounds like you can't stand to be around him. _How_ is this going to work? I just don't see anything getting any better."

A lone tear fell from her cheek then and Nate cursed himself. _Why_ had he been honest? Why couldn't he have just told her what she wanted to hear? This was not what he'd intended to happen when the day began or even when this conversation began. He'd thought he could make her see reason, but all he'd done was scare her away. "Please, Ella…"

She stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his torso. "I—I won't if you promise me that you'll _try_ to get to know him. To really give him a chance."

He pulled her tighter but shook his head. "I—I can't do that, Ella. He's all wrong for you and you're going to dig yourself a hole that you won't be able to climb out of. I can't sit back and smile and pretend to be happy that you're making the biggest mistake of your life. I want to be able to do that for you, but I _can't_."

He heard her take a quivering breath and a muffled whimper escaped her lips. He could tell she was trying very hard not to cry. She pushed him away and glared at him through her watery eyes. "You _can't_? So, you don't care about me enough to find a way to get along with my boyfriend? He may be around for a while, Nate, and you can just toss our friendship aside because you don't _like_ him?"

"No, I can't because I care about you _too much_ to have to sit back and watch all of this unfold," He said quietly.

"Fine," She said as she gasped and held back what he was sure would have been a sob. "Go. Go be someone else's friend. I certainly don't need you to be mine anymore."

She turned her back on him and sat down against the wall. He stayed there for a few moments watching her shoulders shake. She was crying, and she wasn't crying because of Luke. _He_ did that to her. No one else but himself had caused Ella to shake with tears. What would be so bad about giving Luke a chance? Yes, Nate suspected the guy was going to, however unintentionally, ruin Ella's life but he didn't _know_ that. And if things did start to head in the direction he foresaw then wouldn't it be better if Nate was there to help her get herself out of it? He closed his eyes tight as he realized that he'd just talked himself into giving Luke a chance.

"Ella," he said softly as he knelt down and reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. She took a moment before she turned around and Nate knew that she was trying to furiously rub the tears away.

"What?" She snapped as she turned around.

"I—I'm sorry. You're right. I _should_ give him a chance. You, at the very least, deserve that from me. You're my friend and I care about you. I just want to make sure you're happy. That's all," He told her honestly.

"I am happy. _Luke_ makes me happy," Ella told him with a sniffle as they both began to stand.

His heart broke a little as she said that, but he took a deep breath and smiled softly at her. "Then I'll give him a chance. _For you_."

She rammed him with a hug and nearly knocked the wind out of him. He held her tightly and prayed that her relationship with Luke was a passing thing, that it would be over just as quickly as it began, and that Ella would come out of all of this and still be _Ella_.

A throat cleared behind them and Ella practically shoved him away from her. "Luke!"

Nate struggled to keep from glaring at the guy who'd been responsible for so much drama already.

She cleared her throat and put a couple of feet of distance between herself and Nate. "Luke this is Nate Gre—"

He nodded and smirked. "I know who he is. I remember."

"Right," Ella said with a nervous laugh.

Ella squirmed uncomfortably at the tense expression on Luke's face, and Nate thought it best to give them all something to talk about.

"So, we're all getting together for a karaoke party in the mess hall tonight. You're more than welcome to join us. You'll know at least two people there. Dana and Tess are coming," Nate said to Luke with a thin smile.

Ella's eyes widened. "Dana?" She turned to give Nate a concerned glance. "Are you okay with that?"

Nate smiled softly at her. "It's fine. Dana and I are still friends, Ella."

"You're sure?" She asked again.

"It's not a problem," He promised.

Ella smiled and then turned back to Luke. "What do you say, babe? Can we go?"

Once again, alarms bells sounded in Nate's head. _"Can we go?"_ Was she asking for permission to hang out with her friends?

"Yeah, why not?" Luke said with a smile and a shrug. "It sounds like fun. Maybe I can teach you Camp Rockers a thing or two. I always enjoy that."

Ella rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah right, Camp Rock is totally better than Camp Star."

"You say that now," Luke said with a teasing grin. "But hopefully that will all change next summer."

That was Nate's cue to leave. He couldn't bring himself to stay and listen to this. He said his goodbyes and told them both he'd see them at the party. On his way to the mess hall for lunch he passed by Tess.

"Woah," she said as she placed a hand on his arm to stop him. "You look…upset. Everything okay?"

"What?" He asked.

"Normally," She said. "I would just let you go your own way and deal with whatever emotions you're feeling on your own, but you looked absolutely _miserable_. Anything you want to talk about?"

"What do you know about Luke?" Nate asked her hesitantly.

Tess quirked an eyebrow at him and sighed. "Enough to know that he and Ella aren't right for each other."

Something about her tone intrigued him. There was no intense dislike for Luke apparent in that sentence. In fact, something about Tess seemed to soften when Nate mentioned him. Nate gave her a look that asked her to explain. She hesitantly continued.

"Luke is from a family of performers. He's under a lot of pressure to be exceptional from everyone. The campers at Camp Star, Axel, his parents…they all expect him to be flawless and perfect. And when he's not they tend to be very brutal. They've all got him convinced that he's no good without them, and that he can't ever be what he wants to be unless he depends on _them_. I figured out a long time ago why the two of us had a hard time getting along."

"And why's that?" Nate asked curiously.

"The one place where he felt like he was the absolute best, and the one safe place where he just _knew_ he was good enough was invaded. I came in and suddenly Axel was forcing him to share solos and his 'best of the best' status. He was threatened," Tess admitted. "I think he does truly care for Ella, and it makes sense that he would. You know her. She believes in everyone. She thinks people can do whatever they want to do with a little hard work. He's never had that. No one's ever told him that."

Nate smiled softly. "She's definitely an encouraging person to have around."

"Exactly, but the problem with Luke is that he doesn't know how to share. He's afraid that _if_ he shares everything will be taken away from him. So, I can already tell you what he's going to try to do with Ella, and it's not going to be good," Tess sighed. "He's a good guy, I know he is. He just lets himself get carried away with his own wants and needs. I'm the same way. I mean I've mellowed a little but I know how it is. People like me and Luke just get greedy when we're finally given something we've always wanted."

Nate sighed. "That's what worries me. What if he 'gets greedy' with Ella?"

Tess looked down at the ground before meeting his gaze. "There's not going to be a what if, Nate. He _will_ get greedy. I've tried to tell him that he can't control people, that he can't keep _everything_ for himself, but he hasn't heard me yet."

"So," Nate began, but he already knew the answer to his question. "Is there anything we can do about this?"

Tess closed her eyes and shook her head. "We can hope and pray that Ella's strong enough to be the one to _make_ him listen. But…that's about it, really."

"This is ridiculous. I feel like no matter what I do I'm going to—I mean _we're_ going to…"

"Lose her?" Tess asked knowingly.

"Yes! This is a lose-lose situation. If we fight her on this and tell her to stay away from him she'll stop talking to us, but if we let this go on…she's going to lose herself. I can't watch that happen. Ella's so—she just has so much—" He groaned in frustration. He couldn't get the words out. He knew what he wanted to say, but there was too much _to_ say. He stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. "She has too much to offer the world for Luke to try and contain it."

"Nate," Tess said slowly. "This is a bad time to bring this up, but…have you ever thought that you might be, well, in _love_ with Ella?"

He chuckled darkly. "I know I am, Tess. That's part of the problem."

Tess released a breath that sounded nothing short of sorrowful and placed an hand on his shoulder. "We'll figure something out, Nate. We'll—we'll help her make him see his mistakes. Somehow."

"I hope so," Nate said softly as he ran a hand through his hair.

For the rest of the summer Luke was included in everything they did. Nate gave the guy a chance, but Luke didn't seem interested in returning the favor. He kept Ella an arms length away from all of them whenever the group was together. So far though, he didn't seem to really be _controlling_ her. He was just…possessive.

It wasn't until Camp Rock's last jam of the summer that Nate really saw the first piece of evidence that Luke was influencing Ella's actions. Everyone had signed up for the jam, and usually Ella was one of the first to sign up. She loved all of the jams. Fashion may be her calling but she loved being on stage too much to give it up. She'd told Nate that herself.

But this time, her name wasn't on the list. They all sat down to breakfast one morning and Tess decided to ask her about it.

"Ella, you haven't signed up for Final Jam. I thought you said you were going to try something on your own this year?"

"Well, I was, but I think it will be more fun to help all of you guys put together your wardrobe. It will be like a really trendy puzzle," Ella said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Peggy's brow furrowed. "But, Ella…you _love_ Final Jam."

"I know, but—"

"And isn't this your last one?" Peggy continued. "You'll be working at Camp Star next summer. You won't be able to be in any more of them. I really think that you should at least—"

Ella slammed her fist down on the table to cut Peggy off. "I just don't want to, okay? Can we leave it at that?"

"No," Caitlyn said curtly as if this wasn't the first time she and Ella had discussed this. "We can't."

Ella glared at Caitlyn and stood up from the table. "Luke thinks I should spend more time designing and less time onstage, and he has a point. I've only ever been a mediocre performer anyway. So…so why waste my time?"

Tess gave Nate a sad look from across the table. His fists clenched and he looked up just in time to see a heavy sadness flash across Ella's eyes.

"Why waste _everyone's_ time?" She asked in a softer tone. She started to walk away but Nate reached out and wrapped a hand around her wrist.

"Ella, please stay," He said with a sigh. "We'll talk about something else. Just, please, sit down and eat with us?"

Breakfast was the only time they ever saw Ella by herself anymore, and Nate didn't want it to end like this. They only had a handful of these breakfasts left before Ella ceased to be a Camp Rocker, and _he_, at least, wanted to enjoy them as much as he could.

Ella nodded and sighed. She picked up her food and moved to sit down next to him. "But only because _you_ asked me."

He chuckled and grinned at her. "Caitlyn, really bugging you that much, huh?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Ella said flatly. "Subject change?"

He nodded. "Sure."

He desperately wanted to talk to her about everything Luke had been telling her. Apparently, now he was convincing her to think less of _herself_. More than anything Nate wanted to know what she and Luke talked about, if only to assure her Luke was wrong.

But he knew that bringing up such things would only make her mad at him. And he had such little time with her lately that he didn't want to spend the few moments he did have fighting. So, instead he brought up meaningless random topics, and avoided the very large elephant that was looming in the room.

The summer ended and somehow Luke and Ella stayed together. He had hoped the school year would put enough distance between them for Ella to see how _dangerous_ her relationship with Luke really was.

But that didn't happen. If anything, by some fluke, the two of them grew closer.

And as a result, Nate hadn't been able to keep in touch with her the way he would have liked. At first, they'd talked daily, but eventually he was downgraded to a bi-weekly e-mail.

The first day of camp rolled around, but Ella's absences tainted the day. Everyone felt the same sadness. Their group was incomplete.

And what made it even worse was the knowledge that this might be the last summer for some of them. Most of them were starting college in the fall and probably would be forced to make other plans during the summer and start thinking about their careers. There would be internships and summer classes and probably even other summer camps.

Ella and Luke came to the opening bonfire for both camps that Camp Rock had been sponsoring the last few years. Nate hadn't been able to hug Ella like he'd wanted to, and the lack of contact frustrated him. Luke had practically kept Ella pinned to his side all night long.

But somehow Nate had managed to find a moment alone with her by the bonfire.

"Hey," He said softly.

She smiled warmly at him. "Hey."

"We miss you around here," He told her honestly.

"I miss you guys too."

"Did you hear that Peggy got into Julliard?" Nate asked when an awkward silence threatened to overtake them.

Ella smiled and glanced over at her friend. "Yeah, I did."

"Hey, that reminds me, whatever happened with your interview with that design school in Georgia?" He asked as he remembered one of her e-mails.

"Oh, um, that didn't work out. I mean they offered me a spot, but…I turned it down," She said. He sensed that same sadness from last summer. The sadness that had stopped her from signing up for Final Jam. "I'm going to this school in LA instead. I'll be closer to Luke that way."

"Oh," He said with a frown before repeating the line he'd practiced so many times. "Well, as long as you're happy."

She took a deep hesitant breath before answering. "I…am. I am."

She didn't sound so sure, and Nate hurt for her. This was what he'd been afraid of. She was withering. He could already see that some of her light, that he loved so much, was dimming. And he felt helpless to stop it.

He took a deep breath and decided he had to say something. He'd given Luke a chance right? He'd tried for her? Wasn't it time that he be honest with her again? Or maybe, if he was lucky, she'd be honest with him instead. "Ella, are you sure? I mean are you really and truly _happy_?"

Her eyes welled up and her breathing quickened. For a brief moment he swore she was going to break down and tell him everything. "Nate, I don't…I—"

"There you are," Luke said suddenly as he placed himself between Nate and Ella. He put an arm around Ella's shoulders and pulled her close. "I thought you'd run away."

She let out a hollow laugh. "No, I don't run remember? It's a no-no in my book."

That laugh was the end of his patience. That was not Ella's laugh. It sounded, he hated to even _think_ it, but it sounded…_dead_. He excused himself and left to find Tess. This had to end. Ella was sinking deeper and deeper. Pretty soon there was going to be nothing left but an empty shell. He found Tess sitting across the fire from Ella and Luke. Her face was set in an expression of worry and she nodded in understanding when she saw him. She stood up and led him away from the fire pit where they could talk privately.

"You saw that, right?" He asked her.

She nodded. "She can't take much more of this."

"I—I don't know how to help her, Tess. I want to help, but I don't know how I can," Nate admitted desperately.

"You need to get her alone. She almost told you everything. I couldn't hear her and even _I_ knew that," Tess sighed.

"That's easier said than done," Nate said with a shake of his head. "How do we get Luke to leave her alone?"

Tess nodded. "Don't worry about that. I'll take care of it. You just be prepared to grab her and run. Really, Nate. Grab her hand and drag her off somewhere where Luke will never interrupt."

"What are you going to do?" Nate asked suspiciously.

"Confront him with the truth. That's what I'm going to do," Tess said with a determined glare. "He'll be better off for it in the end. Even if he doesn't see it."

They returned to the bonfire and Tess zeroed in on Luke. She approached where he sat with Ella and glared at him. "Stand up."

He quirked a brow at her. "What?"

"Stand up, _we_ need to talk," Tess commanded. "Alone."

"Look, Tess, I know you have a thing for me or whatever but—"

"Luke," She said sternly. "Don't make me do this in front of Ella."

He stood and glared at her. "Why shouldn't we do this in front of Ella? It's probably about her anyway, isn't it?"

Ella looked away from them and rested her elbows on her knees. Nate watched as she crawled inward and covered her face with her hands. Tess and Luke continued to yell back and forth while Nate reached down and removed one hand from her face. He held onto it tightly and pulled her up form the log she sat on. Ella gave him a questioning look, but Nate said nothing. He simply tugged her into the trees that surrounded them.

"N-nate?" She finally asked as they lost sight of the fire. "Where are we going? I can't see."

"Not too much further," He promised. "It's just up ahead."

"Are you sure we're not lost? I've never been in this part of the woods before. I don't think anyone has."

He pulled out his flashlight and pointed it into a clearing. It was a perfect circle that had been cut out in the middle of the thick woods that surrounded the camp.

"There's a generator around here somewhere," Nate muttered as he pulled Ella into the clearing and looked around.

"A generator? What is this place?"

Nate laughed. "It's Uncle Brown's secret hide out. He comes here when he needs to get away from all of us. He doesn't know I know about it."

Nate finally found the generator and turned it on. Suddenly Ella could see a small inexpensive camper parked off to the side. There were lights pointed at it from four different directions. She smiled, and Nate couldn't help but smile with her. It was the first real smile he'd seen from her all night. "I always wondered where that man went on his breaks."

Nate grinned and nodded. "Well, now you know."

Her eyes met his and her expression was suddenly clouded over with guilt. "We should get back."

"No," He told her with a shake of his head.

"What do you mean _no_?"

"You need to talk, and we're not going back until you do," Nate told her simply.

"I don't need to talk Nate. I'm fine. I'm happy, really."

"Ella, you nearly cried earlier. Don't pretend you didn't. I saw it."

"There was smoke in my eyes. From the fire. Really, I'm very happy," She said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Then why can't you say that and smile at the same time?" He asked as he took a step closer to her. "Why haven't _any_ of your smiles tonight been real? Why did your laugh break my heart even more? You're lying to yourself, Ella."

She backed away from him and turned to find a way out of the clearing, but she had no idea which way they came from. "Nate, _please_."

She suddenly felt his fingers lace with hers and she closed her eyes. "I can see it, Ella. Every little thing you do is hollow. You're exhausted and broken, and you won't let me help you. I _want_ to help you, but I can't. It's frustrating. It's like you're falling away from me, and—and I could save you…if only you would reach for me."

She swallowed thickly and opened her eyes. She gasped when she found his eyes just waiting for her to look at him. He looked hurt, and…heartbroken. He blinked and she swore she saw water building up in his eyes.

"Why won't you just reach for me?" He asked quietly. "I'm here. I'm waiting."

She felt wetness on her cheeks and shook her head. "H—He needs me, Nate. You should see the people he calls his family—"

"But do you love him? Do _you_ need _him_?" Nate asked.

"N—no. But I can't just leave him all alone. He doesn't see how talented he is, even if he acts like a pompous creep, and he doesn't know that he can _do_ just about anything. No one ever tells him that…except for me."

She was shaking. He could feel it. "But you shouldn't have to give up everything that makes you who you are to do that for him. That's not the way things should work, Ella."

"I don't know how to get out, Nate," She said as she fought the tears that were freely falling. "I can't…"

He brought his free hand up to wipe away her tears. "You can. There are others out there who are willing to help Luke too. It's not just you."

She let a soggy scoff escape her lips. "Oh really? _Who?_ You? You hate him."

"I don't _hate_ him. I hate what he's doing to you." Nate told her quietly. "But Tess…Tess wants to help him. She's been trying for years. She told me all about him."

"Tess?" Ella asked in confusion. "But she was just…yelling at him."

A small smirk formed on his lips. "Well, it _is_ Tess. She has her own way of getting through to people."

"B—but what if I leave him and…something terrible happens?" Ella asked as she slowly moved closer to Nate.

"You can't take care of him all the time. He has to learn to stand up for himself. And _you_, you have to learn to take care of your _own_ needs sometimes," Nate told her softly. She leaned into his chest and sniffled. He wrapped his arms around her and continued to speak softly. "You care so much about other people that you forget about yourself. You deserve more than the one sided relationship you're in, Ella."

Ella didn't say anything else after that. There was nothing left to be said. She wrapped her arms around his torso and held on tightly. He was right. She'd let this go on long enough. She cared about Luke, but she didn't _love_ him the way he deserved. Luke needed someone a little more forceful than herself. She saw that now. She let out a shaky breath before she buried her face in Nate's chest and cried.

She cried long and hard and loud. She'd done this before, but always in the privacy of her bedroom. Before she hadn't had Nate to stroke her hair and kiss her temple and whisper soothing words into her ear. Her pillows had never held her this tight or ever cried _with_ her. And she knew Nate was crying too. He wasn't sobbing as desperately as she was but she knew there were tears because a few of them had fallen onto her forehead.

"Can we…can we go back now?" Ella asked reluctantly.

"Are you sure you're up to it? We can stay here until you are…there's no rush," Nate promised. Truth be told he was a little afraid she'd pretend none of this ever happened once they left the clearing.

"I—I need to do this _now_. If I don't then I might not do it at all," Ella said as she pulled out of Nate's embrace. He nodded and turned off the generator before leading her back toward the bonfire. Tess and Luke had caught everyone's attention by the time Ella and Nate returned. Luke was furious and yet Tess seemed cool and collected.

"Luke," Tess said calmly. "You have a problem and you need to admit it."

"You don't know anything! I don't see anything wrong with keeping her close to me—"

"You're not keeping her _close_ you're holding her hostage," Tess said bluntly. "That's not a relationship. I mean do you even love her? Or do you just love having someone who believes in you?"

"I," he paused thoughtfully before he continued. "I don't know."

"Because, let me tell you, I believe in you too. I _know_ that you're going to be a huge success some day, and I _know_ that somewhere underneath that narcissistic façade is a caring human being," Tess told him. "But things will never get better if you collect all the stones people throw at you. All you're doing is burdening yourself and, unfortunately, Ella."

Nate still held her hand loosely in his own and he immediately felt her tense at the mention of her name. Luke glanced back at Ella and Nate was amazed at what he saw on Luke's face. Regret. Remorse. Pain. Tess reached over and gave Luke's arm a squeeze. She sighed and spoke in a softer tone. "Just think about that, okay? Come and find me when you want to talk. You know where I'll be."

Tess walked away and Luke kicked the ground in frustration. He sighed and turned to Ella. "We need to talk."

She nodded. "Yes, we do."

Luke reached out and took her free hand and began to lead her away, but Ella stopped when she realized Nate still had her other hand. She bit her lip and pulled away from Luke to look at Nate.

"Nate? You have to let go."

He swallowed thickly and nodded. "I—I will. I just have to know…you're coming back right?"

She squeezed his hand and nodded with certainty. "I'm coming back. I promise."

Nate slowly released his hold on her and watched nervously as Luke led her toward the pier. They disappeared from his line of sight and Nate knew he had to get away. He had to go somewhere where he wouldn't be tempted to eavesdrop. He needed to try and think about something else or he just _knew_ he was going to worry himself crazy. He stopped by his cabin pick up his guitar and then headed toward the clearing again. His uncle wouldn't mind.

He planned on playing something, anything, to keep his mind from drifting to Ella, but he just couldn't focus on anything besides the current situation. So, instead, he sat there thinking of all the things that could go wrong. What if Luke lost his temper? What if Ella didn't want to risk upsetting Luke even more and backed out? What if he and Tess just made things worse?

"Hello?" Ella's soft voice called. She interrupted his thoughts and he looked down at his watch. He'd been out here for an hour and a half already? He stopped pacing (when did he _start_ pacing?) and turned toward the direction her voice came from. "Nate? Are you here?"

"Yes, yes I'm here," He said as he quickly approached her.

She smiled when she saw him and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her instinctively.

"That's a real smile," Nate whispered. She nodded and he felt her head move against his chest. "What does that mean?"

She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "I told Luke that we were over. He protested a little, but I think…I think Tess got to him. I think he knows she's right about him…about _everything_."

"So, it's done?" He asked anxiously as he pulled back from the hug. "And you're going to be…okay?"

A sad smile appeared on her face. "I will be. Eventually. I have a lot to work through, you know? But, right now, I feel…"

"Feel what?"

"Relieved," She said as she released a deep breath. She certainly looked relieved. Her eyes were brighter and she seemed to glow slightly. _His_ Ella was peeking her way through again. He smiled slowly and pulled her in once again. This time as he hugged her he placed a lingering kiss on her cheek.

He wasn't stupid. He knew this wasn't the right time for anything to happen between him and Ella, but it was the only way he could think to express everything he was feeling in that moment. He was happy that she was finally free and overjoyed that she seemed a bit more like herself again. But most of all he was so very proud of her for finally reaching out for help, and for being brave enough to take those first steps away from Luke.

He sighed happily and pulled back to look her in the eyes. "Ella, I don't know all the details of what went on between you and Luke—"

She grimaced as she thought about it and looked away from him, but he gently took hold of her chin and brought her eyes back to his.

"But I want you to know that tonight—tonight proved you can do anything," He told her with a smile. "If you can be strong enough to face up to all of _this_ then you can overcome any obstacle and become whoever you want to be."

"You think so?" Ella asked hopefully.

Nate nodded. "I know so."

* * *

Ella smiled and closed her eyes. She soaked in the applause for a short moment before opening them again for the cameras. She motioned to her models and gave the group gathered for her fashion show a chance to applaud the girls who wore her clothes so well. She caught sight of Nate out of the corner of her eye and waved at him. He flashed her a proud smile and took a break from clapping to wave at her in return. The models returned backstage and Ella followed them.

She was fairly certain her first fashion show was a huge success. She'd had every outfit finished on time and, by some miracle, each article of clothing perfectly matched what she'd envisioned in her head.

"Wonderful job, Ella. Definitely an A plus collection," Her professor said quickly as she scrambled away. Probably to find one of her other students.

"Thank you!" Ella called after her with barely contained excitement. Her adrenaline was pumping right now. People actually _liked_ her designs. People who were actual professionals in the fashion industry liked _her_ collection. It was a dream come true. The door to backstage opened and deafening screams reached her ears.

One of the models smirked as they passed her. "Looks like your rockstar is here, Ella."

Ella smiled and blushed. "He's not _my_ rockstar." She sighed softly as she caught sight of him signing a few autographs for people outside of the door, and added quietly to herself, "Not _yet_ anyway."

Nate finally finished with the group by the door and eagerly made his way to her. He wrapped his arms around her and spun her around. She laughed as her feet landed on the ground again.

He smiled brightly and Ella noticed he kept his arms around her. She was still comfortably crushed against his chest as he spoke. "Everything was perfect. _You_ were perfect. You should have heard the people around me talking, Els."

"What did they say?" She asked curiously as she played with the dog tag chain around his neck.

"Oh, only that they think you're the 'bright future' of fashion," He told her as he gave her a light squeeze.

She looked up at him with wide excited eyes and couldn't help but let her happiness overflow into a light laugh. "I'm fairly certain this is my favorite day ever."

Nate leaned down to kiss her cheek. Ella swallowed thickly and impulsively turned her head to catch his lips with hers instead. Nate sucked in a breath at the unexpected contact, but he didn't pull away. No, in fact, he somehow managed to pull her _closer_. He took control and kissed her gently and with so much longing that it made her feel like her stomach was doing cartwheels.

When he finally pulled away he breathlessly rested his forehead against hers. "Ella, what—why did you…"

She smiled and brought her hands up to hold the sides of his face. "I—I love you, Nate, and I just wanted you to know that. You've always been there for me. Even when you can't physically _be_ there you're somehow always there. You've done so much for me that sometimes I wonder how I'll _ever_ pay you back—"

"Don't," He said suddenly.

"Don't what?" She asked.

"Don't pay me back. I don't want you to," he told her. "I just want you to be happy, and I want, very simply, to be with you."

She breathed deeply and caught the smell of him along with it. Soap and the spicy scent of his cologne. It left her feeling warm and safe. "Being with you would _make_ me happy, Nate. _You_ make me happy."

She'd never seem him smile as brightly as he did just then. "You have no idea how much I've wanted to hear you say that. Ella…"

"Yes?" She asked as she met his eyes once again.

"I love you too. I have for a very long time," He admitted. "Nothing has _ever_ made me happier than being with you, and I don't think anything ever will."

He kissed her again and that's when Ella knew for sure…

This was _definitely_ her favorite day ever.


End file.
